You Look Time Lord
by cheri1
Summary: Ten/Rose with Mickey. After the events of School Reunion, the Doctor takes Mickey and Rose to see prehistoric man but they are captured by the Rani who has a different purpose in mind for early man.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Rose sat on the lounge sofa staring up at the ceiling while she daydreamed. The lounge was well stocked with everything for leisure from a big screen TV to magazines and board games. Most of the time she made use of all of these things but not now. They had just said goodbye to Sarah Jane and took Mickey on board with them. Mickey was somewhere with the Doctor, probably getting a tour or something like that but Rose had to think over the events of the past few days.

She looked over when Mickey walked into the room.

"Man, this place is incredible," he said, walking over to Rose. "No wonder you keep coming back. It's like a whole other world in here."

"Yeah," Rose said, distracted.

"Rose, are you sure it's okay for me to be here? You didn't seem happy to see me," Mickey said, walking over to her.

"I'm sorry, Mickey, it's just…"

"Just what?" Mickey said, sitting down in a chair beside the sofa.

Rose shook her head.

"Everytime I think I figure the Doctor out, something comes along that throws me for a loop. I thought we were the first people to travel with him, I had no idea Sarah Jane existed."

"Is that bad?" Mickey said, not really understanding where this was leading. "He's over 900 years old, Rose, and he's been traveling for a long time, yeah? You didn't think there were other people that traveled with him?"

"I just thought…"

"You just thought he fancied you and you were special," Mickey said with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I get it. I'll just go back to exploring this place and leave you alone then."

"Mickey…"

Rose sighed when Mickey got up and walked out of the room. She shook her head and mumbled to herself about being braver and telling Mickey no when he asked to come along. Now he only complicated things when things were complicated enough. She sat for a few minutes deep in thought before she decided to find the Doctor and talk to him. She got up, walked out of the lounge and made her way up to the console room. She found him by the console, deep in thought while he tapped his finger on the rim of the console.

"Doctor?" she said.

He jerked his head her way and smiled.

"Trying to think of somewhere I could take Mickey," he said while she walked towards him. "Somewhere that's not too dangerous but something that will challenge our newest travel partner. What do you think?"

Rose stopped, thrown off by the question. The Doctor had an expectant look on his face so she tried to think of somewhere fun they could go.

"A funfair?" she finally said with a shrug.

The Doctor made a face.

"I was thinking of something more substantial than that," he said. "Come on, give me a planet or a period in history."

"Um…"

Rose grinned.

"Cavemen?" she said to him.

The Doctor chuckled and got a wistful look on his face.

"I went back to prehistoric times the first time Ian and Barbara traveled with me," he said. "Me and them and Susan encountered all these cavemen. Heh."

Rose sighed. Yet more people the Doctor traveled with. She wished he'd just tell her how many people had been in the TARDIS before her. She was about to ask him about it when the Doctor suddenly brightened.

"Why not?" he said to Rose. "Why not visit prehistoric times. By that time the dinosaurs were gone so there's no danger of Mickey running screaming from a T-Rex. But perhaps…"

The Doctor was lost in thought for a moment and Rose was about to ask him what he was thinking when he suddenly began to run around the console, flicking switches and pushing buttons and doodahs. Rose smiled. The Doctor's energy infected her and she felt excited about going somewhere new. The Doctor grinned at her when he reached his monitor.

"By request from Rose Tyler," he said. "A visit to the dawn of man!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

(Approximately Four Million Years in the past…)

It was a beautiful morning on the Africa savannah. The tall grass swayed back and forth from the warm breeze and animals prowled the grasslands looking for their morning meal. High up in a baobab tree, a troop of Australopithecus apes woke and readied themselves for the day. The alpha male, nicknamed Fang, held on to the limbs around him while he scanned the surroundings for predators. He made sure to look very carefully because sometimes a saber-toothed cat was lurking nearby.

When he was satisfied that the surrounding area was safe, he hooted a signal for his troop to get out of the tree. The others below him dropped down and stood upright, looking through the tall grasses while they foraged for breakfast. Fang studied all of them and his eyes settled on one particular female who was walking off by himself. He snorted derisively at her. She was an outcast, at the lowest social strata in their group. She had come from another troop that had been decimated by predators and Fang had tried to mate with her but she had none of it. She had been on her own too long and she was far too independent. She liked to be by herself and wander off for hours at a time so eventually the rest of the troop gave up on the newcomer and ignored her. He dropped down out of the tree and snarled at her. The woman grunted disdainfully in response and Fang growled at the female puffing himself up slightly to show his dominance. The other members of the troop stopped their foraging to watch. The female snorted again and turned away from him. Fang, angered by the lack of respect, decided enough was enough. He hooted and hollered as he lunged at her, hitting her back and head with his strong hands. The female ran away from him while the others hooted in response. Fang kept hitting her until she was far enough away from the tree that she couldn't sneak back. Fang hooted for her to keep going, letting the insolent female know that she was no longer welcome in his troop. The female growled and grunted at him in response before she turned around and walked away.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"Here we go," the Doctor said as he, Mickey and Rose stepped out onto the African savannah. "We're nearly four million years in the past, at the very dawn of man. At this time, apes had just begun to walk upright so they don't have as much intelligence as later cavemen but they have enough intelligence to make rudimentary tools and defend themselves from bigger, stronger predators."

"What about dinosaurs?" Mickey asked.

"Dinosaurs have been dead for millions of years by this time. However, there are still big predators like saber-toothed cats so we still must be cautious," the Doctor said.

"Wait, there's saber-toothed tigers around here and you want to walk through this tall grass without protection?" Mickey said in disbelief.

"They're not tigers. And yes, we'll be safe enough, just stick together. The cats are more afraid of us than we are of them."

Mickey gave Rose a dubious look but Rose shrugged and grinned. Mickey let her go of him when she followed the Doctor so he could stay behind her and protect her back. Off in the distance was a herd of elephants and Mickey marveled that they looked the same as they did in modern times. He stopped a moment to watch them, aware that he was actually standing in prehistoric Africa at this very moment watching an animal he'd only seen in a zoo. While he watched the herd, he heard a deep clearing of the throat and looked at the Doctor. He and Rose had stopped several feet away and the Doctor was trying to look stern but was failing miserably.

"Sorry, never seen elephants outside the zoo before," Mickey said sheepishly.

The Doctor chuckled and turned with Rose to watch the elephants. Mickey noticed that this Doctor was different from the previous one. The other Doctor would have said something sarcastic and told him to get a move on but this Doctor seemed more relaxed and at ease and he relaxed along with everyone else and went back to watching the herd.

"They look the same as modern elephants," Rose said.

"Yeah, their shape hasn't changed in millions of years," the Doctor said. "Why fix something that isn't broken?"

"But what about wooly ones?" Mickey said to him.

"Up north," the Doctor said, pointing up. "Obviously, a long wooly coat wouldn't work here."

"So there's elephants and big cats," Rose said, "what else is there?"

"Oh, there's an assortment of animals, large and small," the Doctor said. "Some animals are as big as elephants. There are sloths who are as big as a bus. But they're plant eaters and fairly benign. They don't attack unless someone provokes them."

"Well, let's not provoke them then," Mickey said.

The Doctor silenced them and pointed to something in the distance. They looked where he was pointing and saw a lone ape walking through the grass. The ape was humanoid but still very much apelike.

"There's one now," the Doctor said to his companions. "This is an Australopithecus, a very, very early ancestor of you lot."

"She's very short," Rose said while they watched her.

"Yes, they were between three and four feet tall," the Doctor said.

He looked around with a puzzled look on his face.

"What is it?" Mickey said.

"Normally, they travel together in a band but this one is alone. Wonder why?" he said. "Perhaps its an outcast."

The ape froze when she caught sight of the Doctor and his companions. They stood and watched one another. The Australopithecus didn't move for a moment and then to the Doctor's surprise, it began to slowly come to them. The Doctor stilled his friends, not wanting to startle the curious ape. To his delight, the ape kept coming closer. Occasionally, it would stop and observe them before moving forward again.

"Stay behind me," the Doctor said when the ape was twenty feet from them. "It's unarmed but that doesn't mean it couldn't use its fists or pick up a rock."

"Do they normally come up to people like this?" Rose said.

"Dunno, never interacted with this species of ape. But I do know she's very brave since at this time they weren't the top predator," the Doctor said.

The ape stopped about five feet from the Doctor and he could see the breasts on her chest. She was about three feet tall and was chimpanzee-like, except for the upright stance. Still, the Doctor could see intelligence in her dark eyes and he knew that she was capable of thinking and reasoning, albeit not as well as modern man.

"Hello," the Doctor said to her.

The ape's eyes widened and she stepped back a few paces.

"You make words," she said with a deep feminine voice.

"Yes, I make words," the Doctor said, pleased that the TARDIS could translate her hooting into intelligible speech. "Why are you alone?"

"Outcast," the ape said.

"Why?" Rose said.

She noticed the ape was startled a bit when she spoke.

"Did I say something wrong?" Rose said to the Doctor.

"No, I think it's because in Australopithecus society, males are senior to females and I think she thought you spoke out of turn since I didn't acknowledge you."

"Sexist male dominated society, some things never change," Rose quipped.

"Why are you an outcast?" the Doctor repeated.

"I'm different. I don't fit in."

"Why?" the Doctor said.

"I come from different clan. Cat killed members of my clan and I'm alone now. I didn't want to mate with leader of new clan so he made me leave."

"That figures," Rose said.

"Are you clan?" the ape said, looking at them.

"Sorta, we're a traveling clan," the Doctor said.

Rose frowned when the ape lowered her head and held her hand out to the Doctor.

"What's going on?" Rose said to him.

"Submissive gesture. I think she wants to join us," the Doctor said over his shoulder. "It's not good for any ape to be alone out here, she might get killed."

"Can I come with you, Prime Male?" the ape said, her head still facing downward.

The Doctor smiled and touched her hand.

"You may," he said.

She raised her head and the Doctor could see delight on her face.

"I will be good," she said, lowering her head.

"Good, I like good apes," he said, patting her head. "Do you have a name?"

"I am called Runt," she said.

"Runt?" Mickey said.

"Must refer to her size," the Doctor said with a shrug. "She is shorter than average. Okay, Runt, I'm the Doctor and this is Mickey and Rose. You are a part of our clan now."

He grinned when Runt hooted with delight before quickly falling silent. She walked behind the Doctor and took her place at the back of the group. Rose and Mickey looked at her and glanced at one another before the Doctor told everyone to follow him and he walked off to the right.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The female walked at the back, following her new clan. They were enormous. She'd never seen any apes as big as these and they were hairless and wore strange coverings over their bodies. They were very strange looking. The only time she saw hairless apes was when one of her original clan got too close to a fire on the plains and was burned severely and some of her hair had been burned off her body. She wasn't sure who these apes were or how safe were they but she was willing to put her life in their hands to keep herself safe from predators.

She also noticed that the female that dared to speak seemed especially close to the Prime Male. She guessed she was his mate. She thought it strange that there were no other females in his harem though; perhaps they left their clan behind as well?

While they walked, she noticed the sky was growing darker. She began to hoot nervously and Prime Male looked over his shoulder at her.

"What's wrong?" he said as they stopped.

"The sky," Runt said, pointing up at the sky.

He looked up at it for a moment, studying it.

"It does look like rain," he said, looking back at her.

"It is very dark, the glowing stick might hit the ground and kill us," Runt said to him.

"Glowing stick?" Mickey said.

"I think she means lightning," the Doctor said. "It does look a bit threatening."

"We should find a place to hide, Prime Male," Runt said. "The falling water will come soon."

"Where?" Rose said, looking around. "It's all open ground, except for the trees."

The Doctor grinned at her.

"What's wrong, Tyler? Can't climb the trees?" he teased.

"No, I live in houses," Rose said dryly.

Runt looked at them in confusion.

"Water will fall, don't you hear the loud noise?" she asked when they heard thunder in the distance. "Why aren't you finding shelter?"

"Well, because our clan does things differently," the Doctor said to her. "We don't sleep in trees."

"Where do you sleep?" Runt said, thinking how strange it was that they didn't sleep in trees. "How do you keep safe?"

"We fight others and keep ourselves safe that way," the Doctor said.

Runt was even more confused by that. They fought off the saber-toothed cats? They must be very strong and powerful. Perhaps it was a good thing that she found them.

"Shouldn't we be heading back to the TARDIS?" Mickey said when they heard another rumble of thunder and saw a bolt of lightning strike the ground in the distance.

"Not yet, we're here to explore," the Doctor said. "Just follow me, we'll find some shelter."

Runt shook her head. This clan was strange but the Doctor was Prime Male so she had no choice but to follow if she wanted to stay with them. They walked off across the savannah and Runt glanced around nervously, not only at the oncoming storm but also searching for any sign of predators. That was the other strange thing, Prime Male wasn't looking for any danger, was he really so powerful that he had no need to keep watch for saber-toothed cats?

Runt felt a light drizzle began to fall and snorted softly. They were still walking and now the storm was coming closer. Then suddenly the Doctor stopped and pointed off to his right and Runt saw a large cave. She stared at it. There was a series of small rocky hills and there was a large hole in one. She grunted dismissively, figuring it was a lair for some animal, possibly a saber-toothed cat. It was dark and enclosed and wasn't a good place to seek shelter since there was only one opening and no room to move. But to her astonishment, Prime Male and the others walked towards it.

"Wait!" Runt yelled to them.

They stopped and turned towards her.

"What?" the Doctor said.

"Cats might be in there," Runt said, pointing to it.

She knew she was risking expulsion by questioning Prime Male's judgment. But she thought it was foolish to take a risk by seeking shelter in such an enclosed space. These strange apes might be powerful but she was sure they weren't immune from being eaten by predators.

"We'll check it," the Doctor said soothingly to her. "We won't go blundering in without making sure it's empty first."

"But what if something comes inside?" Runt said. "How will we escape?"

"I have a plan," the Doctor said. "We'll be safe. Trust us."

Runt wanted to say more but he was already in tenuous waters now. Her behavior got her kicked out of the last clan and she didn't want to end up alone again so she kept silent and followed Prime Male. When they reached the cave, Runt stood behind Rose and Mickey, keeping her eyes open for predators while the Doctor pulled a shiny stick out of his outer covering. He bent down and went inside and Runt could see a weird blue light coming from inside the cave along with a strange humming that sounded like high-pitched insects.

"Do you see anything?" Rose asked as she moved closer to the cave entrance.

"Not so far," they heard the Doctor say.

There was a loud boom of thunder and Runt hooted in alarm. The rain was beginning to fall faster now and she wanted to run to the nearest tree and get under cover. But before she could run, the Doctor was telling them to come inside. She watched while Rose and Mickey went into the cave and she hesitated, feeling like this wasn't a good idea. The Doctor stuck his head outside and Runt backed up.

"I'll protect you, Runt, I promise," he said to her.

Runt studied him. She looked into his eyes and suddenly she realized that she could trust this Prime Male. She took a tentative step forward towards the cave and the Doctor backed up and gently urged her to come inside. Runt finally stepped inside the cave and tried to peer into the darkness but her eyes were weaker than most animals and she could barely see Prime Male and the others in the clan. Then the Doctor held up the stick and Runt was shocked when she saw a blue light at the end of it. The room was illuminated in a pale glow while the Doctor pulled something out of his covering. Another larger stick. There was a high-pitched beeping sound coming from the smaller stick and the Doctor frowned at it while he studied the side of it.

"That's strange, the sonic is picking up the presence of technology," the Doctor said, looking at Mickey and Rose.

"Where? There's nothing here," Rose said, looking around. "It's just a cave."

The Doctor turned on the bigger stick and Runt hooted in surprise when a brighter light came out of it. The Doctor aimed the stick at the back of the cave and they saw a larger opening. He looked at the smaller stick again and looked at Rose.

"It's this way, whatever it is," he said to her. "I think we should investigate since I seriously doubt they have advanced technology at this time in history, don't you?"

"I'm up for a bit of adventure," Rose said.

"Yeah, me too," Mickey said, nodding.

"Runt?" the Doctor said, looking back at her. "Do you want to come with us?"

"I have no choice," Runt said.

"How'd ya mean?" the Doctor said.

"You are Prime Male, I must follow you or be excluded from the clan," Runt said.

The Doctor glanced at his companions before walking back to her.

"This clan is different," he said to her. "Here, you have freedom to choose and if you don't want to follow us, I understand and won't hold it against you."

Runt didn't understand all of that but she got the gist of it which was she was allowed to say no and not be banished. She wanted to get out of this cave, she didn't have a good feeling about it but the storm was intensifying and there was no time to get to a tree. Besides, she was a part of the clan now and she wanted to be with them.

"I will come with you," she said to him.

"You sure? You can say no if you want," the Doctor said.

"I will come," she repeated.

The Doctor nodded and smiled.

"Just stay close to us, you'll be fine," he said to her.

Runt wasn't too sure of that but when the Doctor led the way further into the cave, she followed him along with the others.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Wow, this is quite a big cave," the Doctor said as he led the way.

They were going down a stone passageway that was slowly going downwards. The walls were unadorned but they were at a point in time where man didn't do cave paintings yet. There were no evidence of anyone inhabiting the cave, man or animal, but there was definitely something here judging from the readings.

Every once in awhile he would glance back at their newest member. Runt was still with them but she looked a bit skittish now and he wondered if eventually she would bolt back up the passageway towards the safety of a tree. She was extremely brave but he figured it was because she was on her own due to being ostracized so often.

They walked for about fifteen minutes until the Doctor was stopped cold. In front of him was a steel door that prevented them from going further. He looked at Mickey and Rose.

"Definitely not something you see in your common or garden prehistoric era," he said to his companions.

"Why is it here?" Mickey said. "Is this a secret base or something?"

"Dunno but good guess," the Doctor said.

He looked at Runt. She had come up beside Rose and was staring at the door with confusion.

"What is this?" she said, walking up and putting her hand on it. "It's unknown to me."

"Yes, I gathered that," the Doctor said. "This is a door."

"What does that mean?" Runt said, looking at him.

"Well, a door is designed to keep something out or keep something in but…"

He tried his screwdriver on it and heard it unlocking.

"Doors are made to be opened," he said to Runt.

Runt screeched in alarm when the door began to swing open. She wanted to run but she noticed no one else was leaving. Then the door opened and a light came on and curiosity overtook fear when she saw a metallic room beyond the door.

"Yup, definitely not your usual prehistoric, dawn of man stuff," the Doctor said, putting his sonic in his pocket.

He went through the door and Rose and Mickey followed him. Rose looked at Runt and smiled warmly when she saw the fear on her face.

"The Doctor will look after you," Rose said to her. "Come inside."

Runt hesitated before walking through. Inside the room were metal chairs with leather straps on them. These chairs were bolted to the wall by the door. Next to them was a metal bed with more straps on it and across the room was a metal counter with metal cabinets above it. There were drawers underneath the counter and beside it was another closed door. The Doctor was examining the closed door while Rose and Mickey walked around the room. It was all very strange to her and she was amazed that her new clan wasn't afraid of this odd room and its contents. She shook her head. They shouldn't be here.

The Doctor used his sonic on the door and heard it unlocking. He smiled at that. He loved a door that opened easily. But as he went to open it, his acute hearing heard a soft humming behind the door that wasn't there before. He paused and listened. He sensed Rose and Mickey coming up behind him and Rose started to say something but he shushed her and held up his hand for silence. He heard the humming intensify and he decided to open the door enough to stick his head inside and see what was going on. But before he could do that, the door behind them slammed shut and locked. Runt screeched in panic and ran away from it while the Doctor ran to it and tried the sonic on it. This time it was deadlocked sealed and the Doctor let out a curse while he looked around for a way to open it.

"Doctor!"

The Doctor spun around when Rose yelled and saw the other door slowly opening by itself. Rose and Mickey backed away from it and Runt was crouched down behind the table, breathing heavily from fear. The Doctor kept his sonic at the ready while he walked towards the open door. As he neared it, the lights switched on and the Doctor saw a large metal box that was shaped like a sarcophagus. It was in the middle of the room and the Doctor could hear it unlocking and hear humming and hissing sounds inside it. While he stared at the unadorned metal, he suddenly felt a consciousness inside his mind. A familiar and yet terrifying flicker of a mind he hadn't felt for ages. A mind that belonged to someone he long thought dead. He realized the metal box was a cryogenic life support system and the person inside had been in cryosleep. He also guessed that coming in and turning everything on triggered the box and caused it to wake its inhabitant. The Doctor felt the consciousness becoming stronger and he knew that he had to get himself and his friends out of here before the occupant woke and did something unpleasant to them. He ran back out of the room, furiously trying to open the other door with the sonic. Then he heard a groaning and a loud hiss and watched with silent horror while the top of the lid slowly opened and came up off the box.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Rose and Mickey stood near the locked door, watching while the lid opened.

"This isn't good," Mickey said while the lid went up to the ceiling and stuck there.

Rose thought that was an understatement, especially since the Doctor had a stricken look on his face that she rarely saw. She glanced at Runt who was still crouched down behind the table, hooting in distress while she looked at the open door and then at Rose. She felt guilty that they had brought her in here, especially since she wasn't a time traveler. They should have made her go back but it was too late now. She turned her attention back to the sarcophagus. Steam was rising up out of it and she saw a woman's hand come up and grip the side.

"Rose, Mickey, all of you stay behind me," the Doctor said, looking over his shoulder at them.

"Doctor, what is it?" Rose said, guessing from his expression that he knew who the hand belonged to. "Who is that?"

"Someone I thought was dead," the Doctor said. "Just stay back."

Rose and Mickey backed up against the locked door and watched as another hand came up, gripped the other side and slowly a woman stood up. She was young, in her late twenties and Asian with dark hair that went down to her waist. Her face was angular with high cheekbones. She was wearing a red jumpsuit and a thick gold bracelet on her right wrist. She stood for a moment before turning to face the Doctor. They locked eyes for a moment before the woman let out a low chuckle.

"Fancy you being here," the woman said with a deep, smoky voice. "But then I anticipated that you might find me one day which is why I took precautions."

"The deadlock seal," the Doctor said as the woman climbed out of the sarcophagus.

"Precisely," the woman said as she finished climbing out. "I never underestimate you, my old schoolmate. Not after all the times you tried to stop me."

"Did stop you," the Doctor corrected. "And I'll do it again, whatever you're planning to do now."

"I'm planning on having a nice cup of tea after sleeping so long," the woman said lightly while she stepped into the main room.

She noticed Mickey and Rose and smiled.

"Are they the newest recruits?" he said sweetly to the Doctor. "It amazes me that you keep finding people foolish enough to travel with you."

"Who are you?" Rose said to her.

"Well, I'm an old acquaintance of the Doctor's," she said to Rose. "I am known as the Rani. Did Theta not tell you about me?"

"Don't call me that!" the Doctor growled at the Rani.

Rose and Mickey exchanged glances. Rose wondered if Theta was his real name and that's why he was so upset when the Rani said it. The Rani looked at Rose and she glared back when her eyes assessed the young human before a smirk spread over her face. The Rani looked around the room and noticed Runt behind the table.

"You travel with that as well? Isn't she a bit primitive?" Rani said to the Doctor. "Or have you gotten to the point where you need them to be stupid enough to obey your orders without question?"

The Doctor glared at her and she snorted.

"You can be obstinate as usual, it makes no difference to me," she said, waving her hand dismissively. "Activate the holding cell," she suddenly yelled out.

A blue light shot down from the ceiling and surrounded the Doctor. The Rani smirked again.

"Like I said, I took precautions, Theta," she said sweetly while the Doctor glowered at her.

"Why d'ya call him Theta?" Rose asked, no longer able to contain her curiosity.

"Because that was his nickname at the Academy when we were attending classes together," the Rani said, walking around the force field prison.

"Leave them alone," the Doctor snarled as he turned around and followed her movement.

"He's so protective of his apes, it's very endearing," the Rani said to Mickey and Rose. "But as I was saying, he and I attended what you would call university. We go way back, him and me. Unfortunately, he developed a conscience and I didn't."

"What are you going to do to us?" Rose said.

"Well, I'm not sure at the moment. First, I want to find out what's been going on since I fell asleep. So, Theta, what of the Time War? Those fools tried to recruit me to fight it and I fled to the past and built this sanctuary and put myself to sleep. I'm a scientist, you see, and they wanted me to think up newer and better ways to kill the Daleks. Problem was, the Time Lords hated and persecuted me and I wasn't about to help them win their pointless little war. So, how about it, Theta? Is the war still going on?"

"No," the Doctor said.

"Oh good, I was afraid the fools sent you to find me and bring me back. Nice to know they came to their senses then."

"They didn't. They were insane and I had to stop them," the Doctor said.

"Oh?" the Rani said, raising her eyebrow. "Their little pet turned on them, did he? So, what happened after you stopped them? Who's ruling Gallifrey now?"

"No one, I burned the planet and put it in a time lock," the Doctor said. "We are the last of the Time Lords."

The Rani raised her eyebrow again.

"Really?" she said.

The Doctor nodded. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed the Rani was now thinking while she walked back and forth in front of the prison. She paused at Runt and leaned down while Runt hooted in fear.

"So this is the first human," she said to Runt. "This thing evolves into something intelligent? Well, almost intelligent," she said, standing back up. "I still have doubts about their level of intelligence," she added, turning back to Rose and Mickey. "However…"

She paused at the Doctor's prison and their eyes locked again.

"Whatever you're planning, I advise you not to act on it, Ushas," the Doctor said.

"My name…is the Rani," she growled at him. "Just like Koschei is now The Master and you…"

She paused and an impish grin spread over her face.

"Well, I could reveal your real name to your pet apes and make you really angry but I have to admit I don't know it. Theta kept it well hidden, didn't you, love?"

Rose raised her eyebrow at that and she looked at the Rani, wondering if there was something more between them than old university buddies. She studied the Doctor to find a clue to that since she knew he wouldn't say anything openly but at the moment he was only glaring at the Rani while she chuckled and walked back in forth in front of his prison. She stopped again at Runt and stared at her thoughtfully while the ape tried to hide from her. Then after a few minutes, she chuckled again and slowly turned to face the Doctor. The Doctor gave her a warning look but she ignored it and crossed over to Mickey and Rose.

"There is no escape," the Rani growled at them. "Do what I say and cooperate or your beloved Doctor will be reduced to atoms right in front of your eyes."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Rose and Mickey glanced at each other and looked to the Doctor for support. Rani noticed that and grinned.

"Your apes are at a loss without your divine leadership, Theta," she said to the Doctor. "On the other hand it's easier to control them if they think your life is in jeopardy."

"Just let them go, deal with me and me only," the Doctor growled at her.

"How very noble but I have an idea stirring in my brain and I'm afraid it involves all of you…and that includes the ape over there," she said, pointing to Runt.

Runt cowered when Rani pointed to her. She wasn't sure what was going on but she sensed this female had somehow usurped Prime Male's position in the clan. Since joining this clan, he concept of clan life had been turned upside down. She watched Prime Male. He wasn't moving from his spot. He was standing in the middle of a blue light while the female taunted him. She glanced at the other members of the clan. The male and female were standing near Prime Male, looking at him for support. It was at this point that Runt decided that perhaps it would be best to stand with her clan instead of hiding in a corner. After all, they made her a part of it; she had a duty to defend the clan from this strange female.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"What are you planning, Rani?" the Doctor asked his enemy while she circled around him.

"Well, I'm planning a regeneration of sorts," the Rani said.

"Your own, I hope," the Doctor snarled at her.

"Now, Theta, that wasn't very nice. I'm talking about the regeneration of our species, seeing as how you eradicated them."

"I did what I had to do," the Doctor growled at her.

Rani shrugged.

"Maybe you did, maybe you didn't, I'm not going to argue about that. The point is, we have the means to resurrect our own people."

"Oh? And what means are those?"

Rani sniggered and the Doctor narrowed his eyes.

"You're thick, Theta, you know that?" the Rani said while the Doctor tightened his jaw. "We have ourselves and we have the humans and…"

She paused for a moment and noticed Runt for the moment and noticed she was snarling and moving menacingly towards her.

"Well, well, your dog seems to have forgotten its fear for the moment," she said.

"Runt, stay back," the Doctor said.

"Runt? How aptly named," the Rani said, sneering at the tiny Australopithecus. "If I were you…Runt…I'd back off and go back to your corner."

"You threaten Prime Male, you leave now!" Runt growled at her.

"Oh, it can talk, can it?" Rani said. "How very charming. However, Prime Male, I'd advise telling Runt to stand down before I do brain surgery on her."

"Runt, stop!" the Doctor said.

Runt fell silent for a moment and stopped her advance while Rani watched in bemusement. She looked at Rani and bared her teeth while she started towards her again.

"Runt, no, stop! I order you to stop!" the Doctor said angrily.

Runt stopped but she was confused.

"She is disrespecting you," Runt said, gesturing to Rani.

"Yes," the Doctor said while Rani chortled. "But I can handle her. I order you to stop your attack and go over there with Rose and Mickey."

Runt glanced at Rani. Rani gave her a smug look and Runt snarled at her. Then she glanced at the Doctor and saw the disapproving look on his face and with a glare at Rani, she walked over to Rose and Mickey.

"Charming," Rani said. "It's nice to know the intelligence level of your companions hasn't changed over the years. So…back to disrespecting you then?" she said sweetly while the Doctor glowered at her. "As I was saying, we have all the genetic material here to resurrect the Time Lords. After all, our kind and humans share some basic genetic traits," she added, looking pointedly at Rose and Mickey.

"Leave them alone," the Doctor said. "You want some genetic material, take it from me and splice it with your own. They're off limits to you."

"And how do you propose to stop me…Prime Male?" she said, gesturing to the force field prison. "You're in there and I'm out here with your humans. Of course, you could sic your doggie after me," she said, glancing at Runt. "I suppose I could use the primitive human in some way while I'm rebuilding our species. Maybe I could put a dinosaur tail on it for my amusement…anyway, you two normal humans. I want you to march over to those chairs so I can strap you in. I can't guarantee that my experiments will be painless…more than likely they'll be very painful but you humans are resilient, aren't you? Now move before I kill Prime Male and extract his DNA from his dead body!"


End file.
